14
"Shotgun."
"I already called shotgun last night."
"You can't call shotgun until you're within sight of the car."
"Says who?"
"Says the rules of shotgun."
"Guys," Seth interrupted, stopping Gael and Nathan in the middle of their squabbling. "Julian gets shotgun."
"But Julian almost always gets shotgun," Nathan said.
"Driver gets final say," Seth cut them off. "And since you guys always force me to drive, I say Julian sits up front." Seth made a face. "The last time Gael got shotgun, I was forced to listen to stories of his, quote,sexual prowessfor two hours."
"I've got a girlfriend now," Gael protested.
"And I don't need to hear stories of all the public places you've done it, either," Seth said.
Gael and Nathan grumbled, but climbed into the minivan the label rented for our tour, taking their places in the middle seats. Julian shot Seth a grateful look as he took his place in the passenger's seat.
The minivan wasn't a fancy, high-tech, double-decker tour bus, that was for sure, but I wasn't going to complain. We had a label who actually paid for it. We didn't have to front the cost ourselves like when we were indie.
Besides, we were still the new guys on the music scene. I knew we'd get there eventually. And this was a local tour, only cities within a days drive. It wasn't like we had to be sleeping on a bus overnight.
"So that leaves me and you in the back?" Liam asked.
Damn. I hadn't thought of that. Me and Liam, crammed next to each other for hours on end.
I grabbed the door handle and pulled it open. "Guess we'll have to entertain each other."
The words popped out of my mouth without thinking of the double meaning.
"I'm sure we'll find something to pass the time," Liam said.
I expected him to follow up with some sort of innuendo or come-on, but he didn't. Instead, his voice was tired, near fatigued.
He wasn't the only one. As Seth took his place in the driver's seat, I could see the dark bruises under his eyes. They no doubt matched my own. Julian's dark hair hung limp around his pale cheeks. Even Gael and Nathan's playful antics were half-hearted, as if they couldn't summon the energy to properly tease each other.
The last few weeks had been rough. We'd practiced nearly day and night, and then some, as the final days before the tour approached. Our muscles were sore. Our heads pounded.
We probably shouldn't have pushed ourselves as hard as we had, but each of us knew how important this was. We couldn't just be good on stage. We had to be amazing. We had to be flawless.
We had to be rock star gods.
"Cerise?" Liam prompted.
I shifted my attention away from the other band members. As much as they worried about me, as the leader of the band, it was my job to worry about them.
Liam gestured for me to climb into the van first. "After you."
The vehicle was raised and I had to step up and crawl in. I was acutely aware of my backside right in Liam's face as he climbed in behind me. Luckily the hem of my skirt fell lower than I usually wore, or I might have given him an entirely too private view.
I had to wonder though. If I had flashed Liam, would he have even reacted?
Liam and I had kissed and it had been amazing. Breathtaking.
